Award Winner German Documentary Film

Music Award 2023: THIS KIND OF HOPE

Switzerland/Germany 2023, 83 min., Director: Pawel Siczek, Composition: David Langhard

The Swiss musician, composer and producer David Langhard receives the German Documentary Film Music Award 2023 for his music to THIS KIND OF HOPE. Sincere congratulations!

He philosophises about freedom with the five-year-old. His wife, a successful journalist, reports from Minsk for Novaya Gazeta. Family, origin, homeland shape him. But for years, the dissident has had to live separately from his family in exile in Warsaw. His goal is a free, democratic, European Belarus. He hurries from conference to conference to achieve it. THIS KIND OF HOPE portrays the diplomat and former political prisoner Andrei Sannikov in private, in everyday political life and in the context of Belarusian history - from the dissolution of the Soviet Union to the rigged elections in 2020 and the suppression of the protests. For too long, Europe has ignored the democracy movement in Belarus. Sannikov hopes for change.
Silvia Bauer

Silvia Bauer

Credits:
Director and Writer: Pawel Siczek. Camera: Daniel Samer. Sound: Pawel Siczek, Jonathan Skorupa. Editing: Claudio Cea. Music: David Langhard. Production: A Film Company, Departures Film. Producer: Valentin Greutert, Thomas Král. Length: 83 min. Distribution: Real Fiction Filmverleih

Jury statement

"The German-Swiss documentary THIS KIND OF HOPE by Pawel Siczek is an important and exciting educational film about the largely unknown political developments in Belarus of the last three decades, told through the story of dissident Andrei Sannikov.

Composer David Langhard's consistent soundtrack complements the cinematic narrative in a multi-layered way. Original song and genre music elements are alternated with dramatic motifs and repeatedly create pauses and time for respiration. In this way, the tension for the audience is always maintained.

For this courageous decision to provide an important contemporary historical film with individual and characterful music, the 11th German Documentary Film Music Award at DOK.fest München 2023 goes to David Langhard."

An award for the score of reality

The German Documentary Film Music Award annually honours a composition that connects with the documentary film narrative in an outstanding way and will be awarded for the eleventh time in 2023. It provides a platform for the work of the composers and the value of music as an additional means for the narrative in documentary films.

The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros and is awarded to the team of filmmakers and composers. The German Documentary Film Music Award is donated by the Versicherungskammer Kulturstiftung and supported by the Förder- und Hilfsfonds des Deutschen Komponistenverbandes DKV.

Conditions of participation

The following requirements had to be met:

The composition is part of a documentary film and was composed for it.
The composer is a member of GEMA, AKM or SUISA.
The date of completion of the film is after 01 January 2022.
The running time of the film (not of the score) is at least 52 minutes.
The running time of the music is at least 15 minutes.
At least 75% of the film's score is composed by the applying composer.
A theatrical copy of the film is available.
Films that are available on freely accessible internet platforms are excluded from submission.
Films that have already been shown publicly at DOK.fest München are excluded from submission.
Films that have already been broadcast on German television are excluded from submission.

The film at the festival

The winning film THIS KIND OF HOPE will be screened at the 38th DOK.fest München from 3 to 21 May 2023:

3 to 14 May 2023 at the Munich venues
8 to 21 May 2023 @home

The German Documentary Film Music Award will be presented at a festive award ceremony with film screening on Sunday, 7 May 2023 at 8.00 pm at the HFF Munich.